A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains or may contain material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the photocopy reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates in general to a gaming device, and more particularly to a gaming device having an apparatus and method for revealing or partially revealing an award, removing or unrevealing the award and revealing another award, before finally providing an award to a player.
Gaming devices are generally designed for the entertainment and enjoyment of players. Additionally, gaming devices provide an opportunity for players to win money, although players understand that they must risk money for such opportunities. Most gaming devices at least intermittently if not frequently generate a win for the player. When the player wins, the player experiences enjoyment or perhaps relief, and in most cases, the player is excited and entertained. Many gaming devices now provide bonus games in addition to the base slot, poker, blackjack, etc., game. In bonus games, the question is usually not whether the player wins, but how much the player wins. Many slot machines include progressive games, in which large jackpots build from a percentage taken from the players"" wagers. The hit or win frequency of progressive games is very low, but when players do win, they obtain the large jackpots.
It should be appreciated that winning and providing awards is a vital aspect to gaming, and that gaming device manufacturers attempt to maximize the entertainment value of a gaming device win. Gaming establishments, too, tend to place higher hit frequency gaming devices in more visible areas.
One known method for maximizing the enjoyment and excitement associated with the outcome of a bonus round is to reveal unselected award opportunities after the game has advanced to a stage wherein the opportunity no longer exists. European Patent Application No. EP 0 945 837 A2 filed on Mar. 18, 1999 and assigned on its face to WMS Gaming, Inc. discloses a bonus game in which a player has one or more opportunities to select masked bonus awards. When the player selects a masked award, the game reveals the selection and provides the award to the player. The player selects until selecting a game terminator, at which time the game reveals all unselected masked awards.
Another known method for maximizing the enjoyment and excitement associated with the outcome of a bonus round includes displaying all possible awards or outcomes and enabling players to accept or decline multiple award offers. The TOP DOLLAR(trademark) gaming device, which is manufactured and distributed by the assignee of this application, provides the player with three offers and a final award. When an offer is given, the player may accept or reject it. If the player accepts an offer, the player receives the accepted bonus amount and the bonus round terminates. If the player declines an offer, the game generates another offer for the player, which may be a higher or lower award. The game thus creates a risk for the player, wherein the risk is demonstrated to the player by displaying the possible awards.
In both examples, the game maximizes the enjoyment and excitement associated with an outcome after the game has provided an award or an offer to the player. Once a game provides an award to a player, the game, by regulation, cannot remove or take away the provided award, without the player first choosing to do so, e.g., in an offer/acceptance such as in the TOP DOLLAR(trademark) gaming device. However, before providing an award to a player, the game can provide and take away awards as desired by the implementer, e.g., provide different awards on a spinning wheel and point to the player""s award.
The present invention provides a gaming device which at least partially reveals, displays or provides a first award on a display device, unreveals or removes the at least partially revealed award and then at least partially, reveals, displays or provides a second award on the display device in place of the first award. The present invention includes a display device, a first award stored in, and randomly chosen from a first paytable, which the game at least partially reveals on the display device. The game includes a plurality of methods or mechanisms with which to unreveal or not display the first revealed award. The gaming device also includes at least one other award stored in, and randomly chosen from a second paytable, which the game at least partially reveals on the display device.
The present invention preferably includes a plurality of these unrevealings or unrevealed awards from the display device. The gaming device preferably includes a database adapted to enable a processor or computer of the game to determine the number of unrevealings or unrevealed awards, which preferably occur sequentially. The game provides a final award, which is revealed and not unrevealed, to a player. The revealed awards preferably increase as the game reveals, unreveals and re-reveals. The gaming device also includes an indicator of awards provided to the player, which does not show an award provided to the player until the game has finished unrevealing awards.
The revealed awards of one embodiment of the present invention include Arabic numbers or written out or scripted numbers. The methods by which the game unreveals the revealed awards include discontinuing the display of, covering or distorting the revealed awards. The mechanisms with which the gaming devices uses to unreveal awards include providing a video clip or an animation on the display device, which performs one of the above mentioned methods.
It is therefore an advantage of the present invention to include on a gaming device an apparatus and method for revealing or partially revealing an award, removing or unrevealing the award and revealing another award, before finally providing an award to a player.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, elements, components, steps and processes.